


2 Crowleys + 2 Angels + 2 Winchesters = Jealousy

by songofhell



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Supernatural
Genre: And Crowley and Aziraphale are the only ones who know what's going on, M/M, Post 12x08, everyone in supernatural is ignorant of who likes whom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-09 08:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8884732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songofhell/pseuds/songofhell
Summary: While looking for a way to track down the son of Satan, Team Free Will (+ Crowley)’s research leads them to an angel and demon who might be able to help. Aziraphale and Crowley (not to be confused with the King of Hell) are ready and willing to come to their aid, but when Castiel and Crowley (actual King of Hell) see just how well the Winchesters are getting along with the new angel and demon, they may start rethinking this plan.(If you haven't read Good Omens, everything you need to know is explained, but I HIGHLY recommend reading the book, and there are lots of spoilers for it in here.)





	1. The Serpent and the King

“Hey, Cas?” Sam called as he walked into the library, his nose buried in a file.

“Yes, Sam?” Castiel looked up from the book on the table in front of him.

“Was there supposed to be an Apocalypse in the 90s?”

Now that got Dean’s attention. “What?” He looked up at his brother before turning to look at Castiel in confusion.

The angel looked thoughtful for a moment. “Yes, I suppose there was. It was a rather confusing ordeal. One minute I was being told to prepare to fight, and the next, the whole thing was called off.”

“Just like that?” Dean asked.

“It was rumored that there was some kind of misunderstanding.”

“That’s one weird misunderstanding.” He turned back to Sam. “What does that have to say about it?”

Sam walked over to the table the other two were sitting at, perching on the edge next to Castiel. “It’s not really clear. The Men of Letters could never figure out exactly what happened. Apparently, they believe a bunch of phenomena occurred to signify the end of the world, but they couldn’t remember anything about it. There’s something about an Antichrist, an angel… Aziraphale?” He glanced at Castiel. “You know anything about him?”

“He was the angel stationed to guard the Eastern Gate after Gadreel let the serpent in,” he explained.

“Oh, the one with the flaming sword?” Dean clarified. “I always thought that was cool.”

“Yes. But he lost his sword and got demoted.”

“That’s embarrassing.”

“Uh, guys,” Sam’s voice was more tense as he spoke up again.

“Yeah?”

“A British demon in an expensive suit and sunglasses… went by the name of Crowley.”

Dean’s eyes widened. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

Castiel frowned. “Crowley was involved in this Apocalypse?”

“In stopping it, I think,” Sam corrected.

“Well, that sorta makes sense,” Dean admitted. “He helped us stop ours.”

“Did Aziraphale help stop it?” Castiel asked hopefully. Dean figured he was hoping he wasn’t the only angel that had rebelled to save the world.

“That’s what it looks like.” Sam gave him a small smile.

“Hm. I wonder where he is now. It would be interesting to talk to him, especially since…”

“All other angels hate your guts?” Dean suggested helpfully.

Both Sam and Castiel glared at him.

“Look, I’m just saying, averted Apocalypse or not, you’re just about the only angel we’ve met who’s not a complete dick. The odds are against this… Azira-guy.”

“It is still worth a shot,” Castiel argued. “I doubt that he is on Heaven’s ‘good side’ either. And if he has had dealings with an Antichrist before…”

Dean sighed. “Fine. I’ll call Crowley. See what he knows about him.” He pulled out his phone and dialed ‘666’. Two rings in, Crowley picked up. “Squirrel. Business or pleasure?”

“Business… kinda. What do you know about an angel…” He snatched the file from Sam and looked at the name. “Aziraphale?”

There was a half-second’s pause. “Nothing.”

Dean frowned. “You sure?”

“Never heard of him. Which, considering I’ve heard of most angels, that is actually fairly significant.”

“But… okay, you know what, come by the bunker.”

“I’m outside.”

He hung up as he got to his feet.

“What’d he say?” Sam asked curiously.

“That he’s never heard of him.” He left the two of them at the table looking confused and went to let Crowley in.

“Good to see you, squirrel,” Crowley greeted him with his usual cocky grin.

“Whatever. We need you to take a look at something.”

Crowley sighed as he followed him to the library. “So, who is this Aziraphale? And why is he so important?”

“He had something to do with the Apocalypse in the 90s.”

Crowley scoffed. “That mess could hardly be called an Apocalypse. More of a train wreck.”

“But you were involved.” Dean looked at him out of the corner of his eyes.

“What?” He looked genuinely confused. “I was just a crossroads demon at the time. I was at as much of a loss about what was going on as all the other lower-ranking demons.”

Dean’s frown deepened. “Then why do the Men of Letters have a record of you from it?”

“They do?”

“Show him the file,” Dean said to Sam as they walked into the library. Sam passed it to Crowley with only a mildly distrustful expression.

Crowley’s confusion only deepened as he read over the file. “This isn’t me,” he finally said as he looked up.

“What?” Dean demanded.

“I don’t know who this Crowley is, but it definitely isn’t me.”

“So, there’s two demons named Crowley?” Castiel asked.

Crowley shrugged. “It’s a good name.” He frowned down at the file before handing it back to Sam. “I’ll check Hell’s records, see what I can find.”

“Be careful,” Dean cautioned without thinking – he knew that while Crowley was technically back on his throne, there was still a lot of discord after Lucifer’s recent demise. He caught a glimpse of the demon’s smile before he vanished.

“Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Castiel asked.

“Why would he lie?”

“Because it’s _Crowley,”_ Sam suggested.

“Yeah, and he never lies for no reason. I don’t see why he would be lying about this. Besides, he was honestly confused. I could tell.”

“Dean does know him best,” Castiel pointed out.

“Yeah…” Sam looked at his brother, traces of concern in his eyes. “I know.”

Dean walked away to power down the warding in order to allow Crowley to teleport back in, brushing off the concern he could feel directed at him. Yeah, he knew that he was probably closer to Crowley than he should be. And yeah, sometimes even he wondered what the hell he was doing, putting so much trust in the demon. But he did trust him. And whenever he let himself, he even enjoyed his company. Which was why he tried not to let himself. Trusting the demon was one thing, but _liking_ him was something he was not willing to look too closely at.

Crowley returned a few minutes later with an armful of files. “You will never guess who this other Crowley is,” he declared as he dropped the files onto the table.

Sam and Dean raised their eyebrows expectantly while Castiel suggested, “An abomination only slightly less annoying than you.”

Crowley threw him a withering glare before turning his attention to the hunters. “The serpent from the Garden of Eden.”

Sam’s eyes grew wide as Dean’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What? I thought that was supposed to be Lucifer.”

“An _agent_ of Lucifer, squirrel. Really? You think he ever did the dirty work himself?”

“Wait,” Sam shook his head. “If demons were once human, and the first humans were still on Earth… how did he exist?”

“Oh, way to keep up, moose. The demons _now_ were all once human. The _original_ demons were angels who followed Lucifer when he fell. Isn’t that right, Cassie?”

“Yes,” Castiel agreed. “Although, it is widely believed that fallen angels are an extinct breed of demon.”

 _“Are_ they extinct?” Sam demanded of Crowley. Dean didn’t blame him; he didn’t know if they had ever heard of a monster that was extinct and then _not_ run into it at some point.

“To the best of my knowledge.”

“So, that would mean this other Crowley is dead,” Dean pointed out.

“Yes. Killed by another demon, I’d imagine. He wasn’t exactly well-liked.”

“Huh. Must come with the name.” He smirked at the demon, who rolled his eyes. “What’s his story?”

Crowley flipped through the files as he explained. “He was stationed on Earth to tempt humanity, in direct opposition to the angel, Aziraphale. He had some notable successes, but a lot of his methods were unconventional. He went native. So, when it came time for the Apocalypse, it was his job to deliver the Antichrist. There was some kind of mix-up, the Antichrist got put in the wrong family, and two dukes were sent to collect Crowley for his punishment. Crowley killed one in ‘an act so vile, no other demon would dare to commit,’ outsmarted the other, and then proceeded to show up where the Apocalyptic events were going down in what appeared to be an attempt to stop it. That’s the last record of him.”

“Well, clearly he did stop it.”

“Was there anything more in there about Aziraphale?” Castiel asked.

“Just notes of time he thwarted Crowley. Wait… he was also at ground zero of the Apocalypse.”

“So, he must have helped. And he has had dealings with a child of Lucifer before. He could help us.”

Crowley arched an eyebrow at him. “Just going to pop up to Heaven and ask for him, are you?”

“Of course not. There has been no word about him in Heaven for some time. If he rebelled like I did, he would not be there anymore.”

“Oh, just scouring the Earth, then. Much better plan.”

Castiel ignored him. “Sam, is there anything more about Aziraphale in the Men of Letters file?”

Sam scanned through it. “Yeah. He owned a bookshop in Soho. You think he would still have it?”

“I believe it is our best shot at finding him.”

“I am not flying to England to track down an angel who may or may not be there,” Dean declared vehemently.

“I would not ask you to.” He turned his attention back to Crowley. “Could you teleport me?”

Crowley sighed exasperatedly. “Sure. Why not?” he muttered sourly.

Castiel rose to his feet and walked over to stand beside Crowley. “We shall return shortly.”

Crowley placed his hand on the angel’s shoulder, and then they were gone.

Dean sighed as he sank back down into a seat. “What do you think of all this?”

Sam’s forehead was drawn with worry. “I just hope this Aziraphale doesn’t let Cas down. Did you see the look on his face? He is so desperate for an angel he can talk to about everything he’s gone through with Heaven.”

“Aw, look at you all worried about him,” Dean teased.

Sam frowned at him. “Shut up.”

“Hey, if he does get bummed out, you could always cheer him up by confessing your undying love for him.”

Sam threw the file at him. “I don’t have undying love for him.”

“The only person you could possibly convince of that is Cas. And that’s only cause he’s so oblivious.” He nudged his little brother’s knee. “Just ask him out,” he encouraged.

Sam shook his head as he got to his feet. “I’m gonna grab a beer, you want one?”

“Bribing me with alcohol to change the subject, Sammy? Fine. You win this round.”

Sam rolled his eyes as he left the room and Dean pulled over the files that Crowley had left behind. Maybe there’d be something in them about this other Antichrist that could help them out.


	2. Comparing Apocalyptic Notes

Crowley reached out a hand to stop Castiel from entering the bookshop. “We should disguise our true faces before we go in. Just in case he is in there and he’s not as friendly as you’re hoping.”

Castiel didn’t want to admit it, but Crowley had a point. He nodded. “Alright.” A moment later, Crowley looked like nothing more than his meatsuit, and he knew that he would just look like Jimmy to any supernatural being he encountered.

“After you.” Crowley motioned towards the door.

Castiel stepped into the small, musty bookshop with Crowley right behind him. There were two men inside – one a little larger with curly blond hair, blue eyes, and wearing a tartan sweater; and the other taller and slender with dark hair, sunglasses, and a nice suit. Both of them looked at the door as the bell rang, the blond one heaving a sigh and the one with sunglasses appearing to be vaguely amused. If either of them was Aziraphale, he was also concealing his face.

“If you’re looking for the contemporary bookshop, it’s at the end of the street,” the blond one greeted them.

“Um… no,” Castiel said a bit uncertainly. “This is the bookshop we were looking for.”

“Oh.” His face fell.

Castiel glanced at Crowley to see if he had any ideas, but he was looking at him expectantly. Perhaps he should just look at some books to buy him some time to think of something. He wandered over to the closest bookshelf and began scanning the titles.

“This is quite the collection,” he noted.

“Yes, it is, isn’t it? Please be careful. Some of them are quite old.”

“Of course.” He was sure that Sam would like to add some of these books to the Men of Letters library. Maybe he would get one for him while they were here.

He noticed the one in sunglasses lean over to whisper something in the blond one’s ear. “No, dear,” he replied firmly. Sunglasses pouted.

Crowley had been scanning one of the other bookshelves, but he seemed to get bored of that and approached the desk. “I find that old bookshops like this have some of the best history. Can you tell me anything about this place?”

Castiel watched the conversation from the corner of his eyes as he continued browsing the shelf.

The blond one’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I opened this bookshop several years ago, when I moved here. There’s not much more to it than that.”

“Oh? I noticed that most of the books are prophetical or biblical. What made you specialize in those?”

“The subjects interest me. Hits close to home, you might say.”

Crowley grinned. “Then perhaps you can help me with a subject I’m researching.”

“I’m sorry, but that isn’t really what I do.”

“Oh, nothing too extensive, of course. Just a couple of thoughts on the matter. I would really appreciate it, Mr.…?”

“Fell.”

“Mr. Fell.” His eyes flickered to Castiel, who was already approaching the counter. “How much knowledge do you have on the subject of angels?”

Sunglasses cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Why exactly are you two here?” His tone was accusatory, with a dangerous undertone.

“We have an appreciation of bookshops,” Castiel answered calmly.

“Really? Because you weren’t paying much attention while looking at the books, and I don’t think your friend’s questions are all that innocent. I suggest you leave.”

“I’m sorry if we have come across as suspicious; we bear no ill-will against you. But you are right, we have not been honest.” He turned to the blond one, who he believed to be the angel, and he allowed his true face to show. “My name is Castiel…. And I believe you are Aziraphale?”

Maybe-Aziraphale regarded him for a few seconds. “Why are you here? I haven’t had anything to do with Heaven since the whole Apocalypse ordeal.”

“There was another near Apocalypse a few years back. Did you hear about that?”

“I saw the signs. But I wasn’t for sure about what was happening until it somehow was averted.”

“I helped to avert it.”

 _“We_ helped to avert it,” Crowley corrected, allowing his face to show as well.

“And who are you?” Aziraphale demanded.

“Crowley.”

 _“What?”_ sunglasses suddenly snapped, the sunglasses sliding down his nose slightly to reveal yellow eyes with slit pupils. “You _stole_ my _name?”_

Castiel and Crowley exchanged a look of surprise. “You’re the Crowley from the Garden?” Crowley clarified.

 _“Yes!_ And you’re one of those human-bred demons, so it was definitely _my_ name first!”

“My dear…” Aziraphale placed a hand on his shoulder, seemingly trying to appease him.

“Angel, he stole my name!”

“Yes, I got that.”

“Hey, I didn’t know there was another demon with the name when I claimed it for myself,” Crowley argued. “And anyway, aren’t all fallen angels supposed to be dead?”

“I’ve had nothing to do with Hell since we stopped the Apocalypse. So, if you-you _name-stealer_ want to make up for what you have done, you can _not_ remind the higher-ups of my existence.”

Crowley grinned. “That might be a _teensy_ bit difficult… seeing as, I’m King of Hell.”

The other Crowley froze. “Oh.”

Aziraphale shifted so that he was angled between the Crowleys. “He’s stayed out of Hell’s affairs, you have no reason to harm him.”

The King of Hell’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re protecting him?”

“Yes.” Aziraphale’s eyes blazed with a fierce fire. “If you want to do anything to him, you will have to go through me, first.”

“Angel, _don’t,”_ the other Crowley protested.

Castiel turned to the Crowley he knew. “I thought we were avoiding fights today.”

Crowley sighed. “Fine. You chat, feathers. I’ll be outside.”

Castiel waited until the door shut behind him before turning back to the other two. “I’m sorry about him.”

“I would really have liked to remain off Hell’s radar,” Crowley grumbled.

“I didn’t think it would be an issue bringing him here. Aside from the obvious annoyances that he causes.”

“You still haven’t explained why exactly you came,” Aziraphale pointed out.

“Because I have been shunned from Heaven, and I figured the same had happened to you. I have a couple of human friends, who I would not trade for anything, but when I heard that there might be an angel out there in the same boat that I am in, I thought it would be good to meet you.”

“Well… I’m glad I’m not the only angel who decided that Heaven’s plans weren’t necessarily right. What did it for you?”

Castiel smiled softly. “Their names are Sam and Dean Winchester. They were meant to be Heaven’s pawns, but they refused. They taught me the importance of free will, and when the time came for me to make a choice, I chose to stand with them. What about you?”

“I talked him into it,” Crowley spoke up smugly before Aziraphale could say anything.

“That is not how it happened,” Aziraphale protested. “I went to that air base of my own choice.”

“Yeah, but you were against interfering until I tempted you. And then by the time the actual Apocalypse rolled around, you were invested.”

“No. You may have said some words in the beginning to persuade me, but by the end I performed my action with complete conviction.”

Crowley frowned slightly. “Isn’t that what I just said?”

“Your Apocalypse had to do with an Antichrist, didn’t it?” Castiel pulled the conversation back on track.

“Yes, Adam,” Aziraphale answered. “Nice boy. A little misguided sometimes, but well-intentioned.”

Castiel blinked in surprise. “He is the spawn of Lucifer.”

“Yeah, but he was raised by humans,” Crowley clarified. “Gave him free will and all that. So when it came time for him to end the world, he said no.”

“That is what happened?”

“Yeah. Why? How’d yours happen?”

“Sam and Dean were meant to be Lucifer and Michael’s respective vessels in the final battle. Dean refused, so Michael had to find a new vessel. Sam waited until we found a way to open the cage. Then he said yes, overpowered Lucifer, and jumped in.”

“Wow,” Aziraphale commented as Crowley whistled. “I never imagined a human would be able to overpower _Lucifer.”_

“You don’t know Sam. He is remarkable.”

“You’re speaking about him in present-tense,” Crowley questioned. “But if he’s in the cage…?”

“It’s… a complicated story, but we got him out.”

“But Lucifer is still in there, right?”

“Yes.” He is now. “Although… he has had another child. And I am not sure if we will be as lucky with this one as you were with Adam.”

“Do you know where the child is?” Aziraphale asked.

“Um… no. I had the pregnant mother with me, but… she ran off.”

Crowley shrugged. “So, you lost the Antichrist. Happens to the best of us. Although in my case, it was more the nuns’ fault than mine.”

“Would you like our help?” Aziraphale offered. “We do have some experience in the matter.”

“What? No! Angel, we’re retired!”

“But we can’t just leave them in this position,” Aziraphale protested gently. “We welcomed any and all help when it was us. And if this child is different from Adam, I shouldn’t think we would want to risk the world ending after we worked so hard to keep it going.”

Crowley sighed. “You are far too good at tempting for an angel.”

“That was not tempting! That was persuading.”

“Tomayto, tomahto. Just like you don’t covet books, you… actually what is your excuse for that one?”

“I love books. I’m an angel, I love things,” he scolded.

“Whatever you say, angel. But fine, we can help.”

“I greatly appreciate it,” Castiel thanked them. “I’ll go tell Crowley, and make sure that he is not going to do anything stupid.”

He began to walk towards the door, but Crowley called after him. “Why is the King of Hell your preferred mode of transportation?”

Castiel glance back towards him. “He’s not, really. But my truck does not travel overseas. Crowley has helped us out before and has proven to be somewhat reliable.”

“I still can’t get over that the King of Hell stole my name,” Crowley muttered under his breath as Castiel continued to the door.

“Crowley?”

The demon was leaning against the front of the bookshop; he looked up at him when the door opened. “Are we leaving?”

“Yes, and they’re coming with us. They’ve agreed to help.”

“Lovely,” he muttered as he pushed himself off the wall and made to walk inside, but Castiel blocked his path.

“You aren’t going to hurt that other Crowley, are you?”

“Oh, now you’re protecting him, too?” Crowley demanded incredulously. “We’ve worked together how many times and nothing, but you meet this demon and instantly you’re all buddy-buddy?”

“He does come across as more likable than you. But more importantly, it will be difficult for him to help us if he is dead. And I rather doubt that Aziraphale would still be willing to help, if that were to happen.”

“Well, don’t worry, I was never planning on doing anything to him. I just wanted to make a point.”

“Good.”

They walked back inside as Aziraphale waved his hand, turning the sign to ‘closed’ and shutting the curtains. “So, where is it that we’re going, exactly?”

“Lebanon, Kansas.”

The Crowley at Castiel’s side looked between the other two with a slight frown. “Why are you two still disguising yourselves?”

“Oh, we do it most of the time anymore, it’s become second-nature,” Aziraphale explained. “It’s one of the ways we’ve been ensuring we stay off Heaven and Hell’s radars.”

“And that worked well,” his Crowley muttered sourly as he walked up to Castiel’s side, Aziraphale right behind him.

“Well, pull your weight, and I’ll see what I can do about forgetting you exist,” Crowley offered. “Ready to go?”

“Ready,” Crowley and Aziraphale confirmed, and a second later, they were gone.


	3. Story Time

Sam looked up as Castiel and Crowley reappeared in the bunker with a couple other men. The the shorter, blond man’s eyes lit up as he took in the library; and he wasn’t sure about the one in sunglasses, but he was pretty sure his gaze was directed at him and Dean. Surely one of them was Aziraphale, but Sam had no idea who the other might be.

“Cas,” Sam greeted him as he got to his feet. “So, everything went okay?” Dean followed behind him as he went over to the small group.

“Yes. This is Aziraphale.” He motioned towards the blond. “And this is Crowley.” He motioned toward the other. “They have agreed to help us locate the Antichrist.”

Both Winchesters’ eyebrows shot up at the second introduction. “You’re alive?” Dean asked, pointing at the fallen angel.

Crowley glanced down at himself, then back at Dean. “Yes.”

Of course. Nothing bad was ever extinct. But Sam knew that Castiel wouldn’t have brought him here freely if he was a danger to them.

 “Great. Two Crowleys. Because one wasn’t bad enough.”

Sam shot his brother a warning look, not sure that snarking the fallen angel was a good move.

The Crowley they knew sighed. “I feel the same way about you Winchesters.”

“This is Dean,” Castiel introduced the elder Winchester. “And this is Sam.”

“You have quite the collection of books,” Aziraphale noted fondly.

“Yeah, it’s really great,” Sam agreed. “We sorta inherited this place – it’s an old Men of Letters bunker. The books cover all different kinds of lore. I haven’t had a chance to read even half of them, but the ones I have read are fascinating.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I take a look at them at some point.”

“Not at all.”

The other Crowley snickered. “You might want to check his pockets before he leaves. If he sees anything he doesn’t have, I wouldn’t put it past him to steal it.”

“I would never steal!” Aziraphale objected in a scandalized tone.

Crowley rounded on him with a smirk. “You would if the book was good enough. You kind of stole the Nice and Accurate Prophecies, you know.”

“That was an accident!”

“But you made no move to return it. And don’t tell me that you wouldn’t have stolen it if you had known she had had it.”

“Well… that was a special instance!”

“Thief.”

“Liar.”

“When have I ever lied to you, angel?” Crowley demanded.

Aziraphale huffed, crossing his arms, and Crowley’s expression grew even more smug. “That’s what I thought,” the demon sang.

Sam glanced back and forth between the two of them, his eyebrows furrowed. The angel and demon were bickering as though they were the best of friends. But Crowley was supposed to be the serpent from the Garden of Eden, and Aziraphale the angel stationed to guard it. They had stood in opposition to each other since the beginning of time. He had figured they might have worked together some when the Apocalypse rolled around, but surely they couldn’t be friends.

Dean leaned down a little closer to their Crowley. _“That’s_ the serpent from the Garden?” he muttered.

Crowley was rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “Apparently.”

“You said that this was a Men of Letters bunker?” Aziraphale asked, clearly deciding to ignore Crowley’s victory.

“Yeah, our grandfather was a Man of Letters,” Sam explained.

“But you’re not?” Sam could understand the uneasy expression on their faces – if they had dealt with the Men of Letters at all, it would probably have been the London chapter, which would not paint a pretty picture.

“Sammy kind of is.” Dean nudged him in his side.

“But the American version is a lot different from the British version,” Sam amended quickly.

“Yeah, we don’t like them. But the Men of Letters is really more of a side project. We’re hunters.”

“Oh,” the two new arrivals both replied in similar tones of distaste.

“Got a problem with hunters?”

“Yes,” Crowley answered immediately.

“They just have a tendency to be rather prejudiced,” Aziraphale rephrased.

“A lot are, yeah. But come on, we’re chilling with the King of Hell. Clearly, we aren’t about to kill you.”

“I suppose that is a good point.”

“Doesn’t mean we trust you, mind you. But we aren’t going to kill you.”

“How comforting,” Crowley muttered.

“So, what is your guys’ story?” Sam asked. “We know you had something to do with an Apocalypse, but…?”

“We saved the world.”

“I believe that Adam did most of the saving, dear,” Aziraphale corrected. “We did what we could to help, but I’m not sure how big of a difference we made, really.”

Dear? Sam shook his head slightly. Now was not the time to focus on whatever weird relationship was going on between these two. “Who’s Adam?”

“The Antichrist.”

“The Antichrist saved the world?” Dean asked slowly.

“Story time?” both Crowleys suggest simultaneously before exchanging a rather perturbed look.

Sam and Dean both grabbed another beer, Crowley and Aziraphale miracled up some expensive wine, and then they all settled down around the table to hear their story.

It had been Crowley’s job to place the Antichrist with a family, but the satanic nuns at the hospital accidently sent him home with the wrong family (Sam and Dean exchanged raised eyebrows, but decided not to comment). Once he knew that the Apocalypse was underway, he had gone to Aziraphale to convince him to help him stop it.

“I said to him, I said, ‘If Heaven takes over, everything you love – music, food, _books –_ it’ll all be gone.’ He has a taste for the devilish things in life, you see.” He leaned into him playfully.

“That – that is an inaccurate statement!” Aziraphale protested, even as he turned faintly pink.

“Tis not, and you know it!”

“So, you convinced him to help?” Sam pressed with a sigh before they could become too distracted.

Back on the right track, they explained that they didn’t discover that the boy that Heaven and Hell were focused on wasn’t the Antichrist until a couple days before the Apocalypse was set to occur. They tried to track down the actual Antichrist, and that search led Aziraphale to a book of prophecies. He figured out where the Antichrist was and called to inform Heaven.

“I had forgotten that the Apocalypse wasn’t just some diabolical plan of Hell’s; it was actually planned for in Heaven, as well. It was the way everything was supposed to end. I had fooled myself into thinking I had been doing the duty of Heaven, but in that moment, I realized that I cared more about protecting the Earth than my duty.”

“I have found that Heaven’s idea of our duty is often skewed,” Castiel remarked. “Our duty _is_ to protect the Earth.”

“I like that notion.”

Things apparently got even more out of hand, after that. Aziraphale was discorporated, and then Crowley arrived to find the bookshop in flames. He did find the book of prophecies, though, with Aziraphale’s notes, so they both managed to make it to the site of the Apocalypse.

“And that was when we realized that the Antichrist – Adam – had been raised entirely by humans, without any Heavenly or Hellish interference,” Crowley explained excitedly. “He didn’t _want_ to end the world. Of course, Heaven and Hell had something to say about that, but Aziraphale and I pointed out that _they_ didn’t know what the ineffable plan was, and this could all be meant to be.”

“Anyway, Adam put the world right again,” Aziraphale wrapped up. “And everyone went home happy.”

“Wow, an actual happy ending,” Dean commented. “We could do with a few more of those.”

“Yeah, in the Apocalypse that we faced, the angels didn’t really care if they were following God’s plan or not,” Sam explained.

“Castiel told us what happened,” Aziraphale said. “What you did was very impressive. I didn’t know it could be done, and you were very brave to even attempt it.”

Sam shrugged. “I didn’t see that there was any other choice.”

“There was always a choice, Sam,” Castiel said softly. “You are just too noble to have seen another path.”

He could feel his cheeks growing warm, and he ducked his head in attempt to hide his blush. “Thanks, Cas.”

“As fascinating as that story was,” their Crowley spoke up. “I don’t see how it helps us locate _this_ missing child of Satan. Unless, of course, that prophecy book of yours has anything about it.”

“No,” Aziraphale dismissed. “Those prophecies only spanned until that supposed end-of-the-world. But we do still have some experience in the matter.”

“I wouldn’t say you were particularly good at it, though. Not until you go ahold of the book.”

“It would still be good to have some help,” Sam objected, shooting a glare at the demon before turning back to the other two. “We really do appreciate it.”

“I hope that we will be of help,” Aziraphale replied.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, angel!” the demon by his side protested, flinging an arm around his shoulder. “We have done great and impressive things, and we will _definitely_ be of help.”

“Okay, I have to ask,” words seemed to burst from Dean as though he had been suppressing them the entire time. If it was about was Sam thought it was, he probably had been. “You’re an angel and a demon, how are you two…?” He motioned between them.

“We’ve been through a lot together,” Aziraphale answered simply.

“Yeah,” Crowley agreed. “Six thousand plus years being the only two beings of angel stock on Earth. It got dead lonely. So, in 1020, we made the Arrangement – you win some, you lose some, and you have someone to have a drink with at the end of the day. It’s evolved since then, especially after the Apocalypse-that-wasn’t.”

“We realized a lot of things about each other during it. Such as how fond we are of each other, and that there was a side of Crowley I had never seen.”

“Aaaand we can stop there,” Crowley said quickly.

The fallen angel had a good side, Sam was guessing. He had kind of gotten that vibe from him as he was talking; he just didn’t come across like most demons. He still had reservations about trusting him, but an angel vouching for him helped.

“I’m getting tired,” Sam yawned as he pushed his chair out and stood. “We can start figuring out a plan in the morning.” He turned and indicated the decidedly less-trustworthy Crowley. “Time for you to get out.” He turned back to Crowley and Aziraphale. “I’ll find you two a room, if you want.”

“Woah, woah, woah, _wait!”_ The former Crowley objected hotly. “You’re letting the demon that you don’t even know stay, and kicking _me_ out?”

Sam sighed exasperatedly. “Yes.”

“Do you even _want_ to stay?” Dean asked skeptically.

“As a matter of fact, I do. We’re having a team meeting in the morning, right? We’re all in this together.”

Sam opened his mouth to say hell no, but Dean was already speaking. “Alright, well…”

“Dean?!” Sam demanded incredulously. “You can’t seriously be considering letting him stay?”

“We can put a devil’s trap inside his door. He won’t be able to go anywhere.”

“Ah, how homey,” Crowley commented.

Dean’s gaze snapped back to him. “Do you want to stay, or not?”

“Yes,” he sighed.

“Fine, then. Come on.” Dean got to his feet and led Crowley down the hall, Sam staring after them in disbelief.

He had reluctantly accepted some time ago that Dean and Crowley had history, and that they were closer than a hunter and demon should be. But _this?_ This blew even that out of the water. He had been hoping that as time passed, Dean and Crowley would grow further apart, but now he was seriously starting to worry that the opposite was true.


	4. Jealousy, Thy Name is Crowley

Crowley stared at the devil’s trap blocking his way to the door as he waited for Dean to get up and let him out. This was just ridiculous. Hadn’t he proven to the Winchesters by now that this wasn’t necessary? Hadn’t he done enough to earn some bloody respect? Apparently not by their standards.

But then this new Crowley had just come waltzing in and suddenly Castiel was defending him and Sam was inviting him to stay. What the hell was that about? What made that Crowley so acceptable, while he was treated like something the cat dragged in. At least Dean hadn’t shown any favoritism towards him. No, it was Dean who had let him stay, who had ignored his precious brother’s most fervent protests. Crowley grinned at the memory. Clearly, there was still _something_ between him and Dean. He didn’t know what it was (though, of course, he had hopes), but it was definitely there.

He paced impatiently along the edge of the devil’s trap. What if the other Crowley was already out there, working his way even more into the Winchesters’ lives? The whole reason he had insisted on staying was in an attempt to prevent this new Crowley from replacing him completely – it certainly wasn’t for the glowing accommodations. He glared at the symbol on the floor, imagining that if he glared furiously enough, he would burn a hole in it.

There was a knock at the door. “Crowley, you’d better be decent in there,” Dean called as he opened the door.

Crowley smirked. “You hardly gave me time to remedy the situation if I hadn’t been. Perhaps you were hoping to catch a peek.”

Dean rolled his eyes as he leaned down to scratch away some of the paint from the devil’s trap. “I have enough nightmares, thanks.”

He followed Dean out to the library, where Sam was sitting with Castiel.

“Where’re the other two?” Dean asked, glancing around.

“Uh… kitchen,” Sam answered a bit hesitantly. “Crowley insisted on making breakfast.”

Dean’s eyebrows shot up. _“What?_ You let him in the kitchen?”

Sam sighed. “He said he taught some world-renowned chef to cook, and Aziraphale said is food is really delicious, so-”

“I don’t give a damn! If he messes up the kitchen…” Dean trailed off has he stormed off in the direction of the kitchen.

Crowley followed behind him with a satisfied smile. Yep, Dean definitely did _not_ favor this other Crowley, and he couldn’t wait to see this blow up.

“What the hell do you think you’re-” Dean began as they entered the kitchen, but then he suddenly stopped. “Damn, that smells really good.”

Crowley froze behind him, a nervous weight settling in his stomach as the Crowley behind the stove looked up. “Tastes better.” He dipped a spoon in the skillet, then brought it to Dean’s mouth, who obligingly opened up and swallowed. “See?”

“Yeah,” Dean agreed, an impressed smile curling up his lips.

_Bollocks._

“Hey, I’m supposed to be your taste-tester,” Aziraphale objected.

Crowley grinned. “Well, it is his kitchen. Here.” He scooped up another spoonful for Aziraphale.

“So, how do you make this?” Dean asked as he moved to look over Crowley’s shoulder with interest.

The Crowley still standing at the doorway looked away bitterly as the two began to excitedly discuss cooking. Great, now he had won Dean over, too. And Crowley didn’t even know how to cook, so he could never impress his favorite hunter like that.

“I don’t cook either,” Aziraphale commented conversationally.

It took Crowley a moment to realize the comment was directed at him. He looked at the angel in mild surprise. “I didn’t imagine so. Most angels don’t even eat. Isn’t it overwhelming to your delicate taste buds?”

Aziraphale chuckled. “I’ve refined my taste buds over the years. I quite enjoy the taste of food.”

“Always good to see an angel learning to enjoy the finer things in life.”

He smiled. “And now you sound like my Crowley. What are the odds that two demons named Crowley would help stop two different Apocalypses?”

Crowley shrugged. “The odds of a demon stopping an Apocalypse in general is extremely small.” He glanced over to where Crowley was showing Dean some technique. “I’d wager we’re quite a bit different, though.”

“Oh, I’d say so. You do bear some similarities, however.”

 _Not enough, apparently._ He gave Aziraphale a slightly forced smile and then turned to go – he had no desire to put up with the Dean and Crowley cooking show for any longer.

“Crowley,” Dean suddenly barked, too loud to be talking to the one at his side. Crowley turned around hopefully. “You’re not wandering around the bunker unsupervised. Aziraphale, go with him, would you?”

Crowley glared. “You know me better than you know him!” And Crowley knew it made no difference that Aziraphale was an angel – the Winchesters only trusted angels minimally more than demons.

Dean smiled slightly as he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, exactly, I know you. As for him, I doubt he’s gonna try to get into anything he shouldn’t.”

“Aside from all those books,” the other Crowley added with a wink to the angel.

“Well, Sam’s in the library. They’ll be fine.”

Crowley glowered as Aziraphale escorted him back to the library. When they entered the room, the angel immediately walked over to Sam and began asking him questions about the library, which the hunter enthusiastically answered. As the two of them moved to the bookshelves so that Sam could show him some of his favorite books, Crowley took a seat next to Castiel, who was watching them slightly dejectedly.

“Loving the Winchesters’ new favorites as much as I am?” Crowley muttered under his breath.

Castiel glanced at him with a frown, but then turned back to his book without saying anything.

Dean and Crowley brought out breakfast a few minutes later, which, even though Crowley quite enjoyed eating on occasion, he refused to eat on principle. He continued sitting in silence with Castiel, while everyone else enjoyed the food that was apparently quite delicious.

“So, we need to figure out what our next move is,” Sam finally spoke up.

Tracking the woman had brought up nothing, they couldn’t track the child because it was protected, and Aziraphale and his Crowley were of absolutely no help when it came to offering up potential solutions.

“So basically, without a book of prophecies, you two are useless,” Crowley voiced. “Why exactly are you here again?”

“We’ve dealt with an Antichrist before,” Aziraphale explained.

“Yeah, once we find them, we’ll know how to handle the situation,” his Crowley added.

“Makes sense,” Dean agreed, shooting Crowley a look that clearly said to shut up and stop trying to cause problems.

Crowley sighed, turning away from the team that seemed to want him there even less than usual. He continued to half-listen to the conversation, but didn’t join in. Occasionally, he could feel a pair of green eyes on him, but he refused to meet them.

Finally, Aziraphale came across a spell in the book he was looking through. It wouldn’t be able to lock into the Antichrist, but it could identify any area that was shielded from detection. It would narrow their search, at least.

“So, it detects the undetectable?” Dean asked.

“Not exactly,” Aziraphale explained. “It scans the world, and anywhere it can’t get a read on, clearly something is being shielded there.”

“Well, that should do it.” Dean got to his feet. “Doesn’t look like we have all the ingredients, so I’ll make a supplies run. Anyone want to come with?”

Sam shook his head. “I’m gonna research this spell a bit more. Make sure there’s no nasty surprises.”

“Good thinking.”

“I’ll help with the research,” Aziraphale volunteered.

“As will I,” Castiel immediately added.

“I’ll keep you company, squirrel,” Crowley offered, getting to his feet with a slight smirk. Maybe spending some good, quality time just the two of them would help get things-

“Me too,” the other Crowley spoke up, also standing. “Aziraphale has a tendency to get a bit focused with a book in front of him. I’ll get bored here.”

_Dammit._

Dean chuckled. “Alrighty. You nerds behave. Come on.”

The two Crowleys followed Dean out to the garage, and the sunglasses barely concealing the impressed expression of the taller one as he looked around at all the cars.

 _Oh, please don’t say anything about liking cars,_ Crowley silently begged.

“Quite a collection,” he commented.

“Yeah, it’s nice,” Dean agreed. “None compare to my baby, though.” He patted the hood of the Impala affectionately.

Crowley walked over to look at the car, the other trailing behind him moodily. “Is that a sixty…?”

“Seven,” Dean confirmed with a pleased grin.

Crowley pursed his lips slightly and nodded. “Nice. Not as nice as _mine,_ but what can you do?”

Dean’s stance shifted to defensive, his eyebrows lifting up. “Oh? And what do you drive?”

Crowley crossed his arms with a smirk. “Twenty-six Bentley. One owner from new, and that owner is _me.”_

The corner of Dean’s lips quirked up. “Cute. But a Bentley has nothing on the horsepower under this hood.”

“How about we have a little race sometime and see about that?”

“You’re on.”

“Could you two stop comparing dicks so we can get going?” Crowley snapped.

“Shotgun!” the other Crowley immediately called.

Crowley glared, but he figured that Dean would probably make him sit in the back anyway, so that he could sit by his new bestie. So, he got in the backseat sourly, while Dean and the other Crowley climbed in the front.

As they took off, the other Crowley pulled out the box of cassette tapes from under his seat and began going through them. “Not bad music,” he commented.

Crowley tilted his head against the backseat and closed his eyes, trying and failing to block out their voices.

“What kind of music do you listen to?” Dean asked.

“A little bit of everything. But mostly Queen, thanks to the Bentley.”

“Queen? Alright, I didn’t see that coming.”

“I like Queen,” Crowley muttered half-heartedly from the back.

Dean glanced in the rearview mirror. “I didn’t think you liked any good music.”

“Just because I got tired of the crap you play-”

“Hey, I don’t play crap, okay? My music is awesome.”

“Your music is made up of a bunch of has-beens.”

“You like classical shit.”

 _“And_ modern. And most of my music choices are dictated by who’s soul I own.”

“So, you own Freddie Mercury’s soul?”

“No. _That’s_ natural talent. Even more impressive.”

Dean laughed, but then the other Crowley started talking again and Crowley was once again phased out of the conversation. When they pulled into the parking lot, Dean turned to the demon beside him.

“You’re not actually going to wear your sunglasses into the store, are you?” he asked. “Cause you kinda look like a douche.”

“If I don’t, I might turn some heads.” Dean arched an eyebrow curiously, so he lowered his sunglasses to reveal yellow eyes with vertical slit pupils.

“Holy shit,” Dean muttered.

“Serpent, remember?” He pushed his sunglasses back up with a slight frown. “And I thought the look was cool.”

“Oh. Um. Well, it works better on you than most people.”

Crowley climbed out of the backseat before he had to listen to any more. He was seriously regretting agreeing to come with, but he also hated to think of how much more cozy Dean would be getting with the hunter-stealing-serpent if he wasn’t there. But if Dean wasn’t put off by the fact that the damn demon had _yellow eyes,_ he wasn’t so sure that his presence would slow things down any. Was this going to be his future? Was he going to have to resort to being the third wheel in order to spend time with Dean?


	5. Potential and Capacity

Sam had decided that Aziraphale suffered from attention deficit books. It wasn’t as though he could complain, though; he wasn’t exactly doing anything to dissuade him. Of course, if they were on a time crunch, he would have responded differently; but they still had some time before the child became a threat, so why not enjoy being able to share his love for the Men of Letters library?

“I’ve never seen a book quite like this one before,” Aziraphale was saying. “And I collect books, there’s not much that I haven’t seen.”

Sam smiled proudly. “If you like that one…” He ran back over to the bookshelf, pulling out a similar title that he found to be even more fascinating.

Castiel looked up from the book he was looking in with a frown. “Sam, aren’t we supposed to be researching this spell?”

“Yeah, but we have time. It’s not often I get to show off the library.”

Castiel frowned at him for a second longer before returning his gaze to his book. Sam sighed. He was always glad whenever he got to work closely with Castiel, but today the angel didn’t seem so happy to be working with him. He wondered if he had done something to upset him, or if maybe recounting the Apocalypse to Aziraphale and Crowley had reminded him of just how thoroughly Sam had screwed up back then. His heart ached thinking about that possibility, but he had always been surprised that Castiel seemed to like his company as much as he did. It wasn’t as though they could be anything like what Sam wanted, despite Dean’s teasing that he should go for it. Castiel was an angel, and he deserved far better than Sam.

He forced himself to tear his gaze from him, turning back to Aziraphale, a bit less enthusiastic than he had been before. “Take a look at this one.”

Aziraphale sucked in a gasp. “I’ve _heard_ about this book. I’ve always wanted to get my hands on a copy, but there are only two in existence. I never could find where, though.”

“You’d better make sure that book is still on the shelf when he leaves,” Crowley-the-serpent’s voice came from the doorway as he walked into the room, followed by Dean and Crowley.

“Hey, guys,” Sam greeted them. “You find everything okay?”

“No problems,” Dean confirmed, dropping a bag on the table. “You know, aside from being stuck in the car with two Crowleys.”

“Oh, we were great company, right?” he shot back to the other Crowley with a grin.

Crowley returned it with a slightly bitter smile. “Oh, yes. Great company.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “How’d everything go here? You find out if that spell’s going to kill everything in a five-block-radius, yet?”

“Have you had a spell do that?” the new Crowley asked, and Sam was only slightly surprised that he seemed to genuinely dislike the thought.

“No, but with our luck, I wouldn’t put it past it. So, how ‘bout it?”

“Uh… we got a little sidetracked,” Sam admitted sheepishly.

“Aziraphale wanted a tour of the library,” Castiel explained slightly coolly. Sam looked at him in surprise as Crowley laughed.

“Not surprised,” the demon said. “I told you, the angel is hopeless around books.”

Sam looked back in time to see Crowley and Aziraphale exchange an affectionate smile.

“I do apologize for my distractedness,” Aziraphale chimed in.

“Don’t worry about it, Zira,” Sam assured him. “It’s not like we’re pressed for time. We don’t have to do the spell today.”

Castiel abruptly stood up. “I think I’m going to go see if there’s anything in the records room that might help.”

“Woah, Cas, slow down,” Dean held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Like Sammy said, we’re not on a time crunch. You can take a break.”

“The spawn of Satan is out there, Dean. I’d rather keep looking.” He continued out of the room before anyone could stop him.

Their Crowley glanced at Dean briefly before declaring, “I’ll help him,” and then leaving the room, as well.

Sam and Dean looked after them, shaking their heads slightly.

“Has Cas been off with you lately?” Sam asked worriedly, looking at his brother.

Dean shrugged, still looking off after the angel and demon. “Not till just then. I’ll tell you what, though, Crowley’s been damn off all day today. The entire car ride home, he didn’t say a word. I’ve never known him to shut up for so long.”

Sam frowned. “Are you worried?”

“What?” He looked at Sam, running a hand over his head distractedly. “No, course not.” Sam doubted the lie would have been very convincing even to someone who didn’t know Dean so well.

“What is it with you guys and this other Crowley?” Crowley asked curiously. “You all work together, but you don’t really seem to get along the greatest.”

“He’s a demon,” Sam said bluntly. “Who, unfortunately, we sometimes need the help of.”

“So, same as me, right?”

Sam shrugged. “I’m not going to say I trust you, but you also don’t seem as bad as him.”

“Well, it seems to me like you stereotype demons. I mean, I get it, I don’t like most demons, either. But that Crowley doesn’t seem anything like the other demons I know, especially the higher-ups. The point is, some demons are different.”

“He’s right,” Aziraphale agreed. “I don’t know your Crowley that well, but mine is extremely different from most demons.”

“Thanks, angel.” Crowley smiled at him.

“So, you think we should cut Crowley some slack?” Dean asked, and Sam got the sinking feeling that he was looking for an excuse.

“I have learned that when you make assumptions about demons from a biased standpoint, you are often wrong,” Aziraphale said before returning his attention to the book, rubbing his neck slightly.

Seemingly without thinking about it, Crowley walked over and began rubbing his shoulders. Aziraphale relaxed into the touch with a soft smile. “Though it should probably be noted, that all of his data is based off of one demon. Still, he’s the only demon I’ve met that I could actually see a possibility of me getting along with.”

“So, you’re a demon who doesn’t like other demons?” Sam clarified.

“Hey, Crowley doesn’t like other demons, either,” Dean pointed out.

“He rules over them.”

“Yeah, but he hates them. Thinks they’re all narrow-minded and whatnot.”

“They _are,”_ Crowley agreed. “It’s why I can’t stand them. No vision, just destruction.”

Dean motioned to Crowley as if to say ‘my point.’

Sam sighed, shaking his head. He did not like where this was going.

In the short silence, Crowley placed a kiss on the top of Aziraphale’s head and Dean raised his eyebrows at them. “So, you two are actually a thing?”

Aziraphale looked up in vague amusement. “If by ‘thing’ you mean couple, then yes.”

“Huh. I hadn’t been sure if you weren’t just those kind of touchy-feely friends. I mean, since couples generally involve love, and I didn’t think that demons…?” He trailed off questioningly. Sam closed his eyes, hoping that Dean wasn’t asking this for the reason he thought he was.

“One of those assumptions I got wrong, too,” Aziraphale said.

“So, demons _can_ love and stuff?”

“Well, not all demons are capable,” Crowley explained. “They all have the potential, but with the way demons are, most block it out.”

“So, what… pushes a demon over the edge to be capable?” Dean tried to pass himself off as vaguely curious, but Sam knew better. But he couldn’t focus entirely on his worries that Dean was considering pursuing Crowley; a part of him was starting to wonder about Aziraphale’s side of this relationship.

“Dunno. Depends on the demon, I guess. I’ve been on Earth for so long, I went native. Other’s though… I mean, it’s rare to begin with. Maybe with your Crowley it’s that he spends so much time with you guys.”

Dean blinked. “What?”

“Well, he’s definitely capable. It’s obvious in the way he acts. A demon without the capacity to love is completely uncaring to the world. You can tell that he experiences emotions just like any human would.”

“Huh…” Dean’s expression was definitely far too thoughtful to be comforting, and Sam knew that he should address the matter. But surely it could wait until he picked the angel’s brain a bit.

“So, what about you, Zira?” he asked. “I just… I didn’t think that angels did this kind of relationship, either. I mean, obviously, angels love, but I didn’t think in a romantic sense.” Dean shot him a knowing grin, which he ignored.

“It’s similar to how Crowley explained about demons,” Aziraphale began. “All angels have that potential, but not many have the capacity. Too many are…”

“High and mighty dicks?” Dean suggested.

“Not what I was going to say, but I suppose it is accurate. Castiel is the only other angel I’ve met that takes time for and recognizes individuals in a way that would allow for focused love.”

Sam pushed back the surge of hope he felt at those words. It wasn’t as though Castiel would ever love _him_ that way. But then again, Aziraphale was dating a demon, so maybe…. He leaned in a bit as he continued, eager and hopeful that he might actually have a shot with Castiel, even though he knew that hope was foolish. “But why would an angel choose to focus that love on a demon? No offense, I just don’t see how something unclean could be worthy of the love of an angel.”

Aziraphale smiled softly. “You may see nothing more than a demon when you look at Crowley, but that is not at all what I see. He is so much more than that. He has done more good than many angels have. During the Apocalypse, it seemed for a moment as though Lucifer was about to show up, and he was willing to stand by my side, to face Lucifer himself, in order to protect the people there. Anyone willing to do that is more than worthy of love. I am the one who sometimes wonders if I am worthy of his love.”

Sam felt as though his heart was in his throat. Well, if the requirement for being worthy of an angel’s love was being willing to fight Lucifer, he definitely met that. But while it was a nice thought, he knew that it didn’t make any difference. Castiel would never love him, and he just had to accept that. He needed to focus on real life matters, not fantasies.

“Dean, can I talk to you?” he asked, nodded towards the hallway.

“Sure.” Dean reached his side and they walked down the hall together. “So… you thinking of going for it with Cas?” he asked after a few seconds of silence, as Sam tried to find the right words.

“No.” He hurried to continue, cutting Dean off before he could ask why not. “What prompted all those questions back there?”

“I was just curious. A demon in a relationship, not something you see every day.”

“I know you better than that, Dean.” He sighed. “Just… tell me you don’t have a crush on Crowley.”

Dean looked down, his cheeks turning pink. He didn’t say anything.

“Dean!” Sam chided.

“Oh, don’t start,” he snapped, looking back up at him. “It’s not like you don’t have a crush on a certain angel.”

“That has nothing to do with this! You’re thinking of dating a demon!”

“I have no indication that he feels the same. I’m not planning on pursuing anything. Would you just relax?”

Sam shook his head slightly. “I can’t believe this.”

“Then don’t. It’s not gonna happen anyway, so just don’t believe it.” He turned, storming off in the opposite direction.

“Dean!” Sam called after him, but he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t respond. Great, now both Castiel _and_ Dean were mad at him. At least he knew Dean’s reasoning. Why couldn’t he ever catch a break?


	6. The Same Boat

Castiel stalked off to the records room, not even noticing the demon following behind him.

He was used to sometimes feeling invisible in the Winchesters’ lives; Sam and Dean had a tendency to get caught up in each other, and he had accepted that long ago. It didn’t bother him, honestly. Well, okay, maybe sometimes it left him feeling a little down, a little expendable, and that may have been one of the contributing factors to him saying yes to Lucifer, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Dean told him that he was considered family, and he believed him.

Sam, on the other hand… Sam had shown him. He allowed Castiel to stay in his room, always making sure that he was comfortable. He knew that sometimes Sam sacrificed the comfort of getting a bed to himself to sleep in, but Castiel did his best to move to a chair and turn down Netflix whenever he noticed Sam starting to doze; sometimes, though, he would look down, and Sam would already be asleep, slumped against him, and he couldn’t move for fear of waking him. It wasn’t that he minded being in the same bed as Sam while he slept, quite the opposite, in fact; he would love to be able to hold him, to stroke his hair comfortingly, to stay by his side always. That would be inappropriate, though, so he refrained.

As often as he felt invisible to the Winchesters, it was always less so with Sam. Until today.

Sam and Aziraphale had poured over research books together, all smiles that made Castiel’s stomach twist. He could count on one hand the number of times Sam looked in his direction the entire time; he may as well not have been there. Except that he was the only one doing any work. Because Sam, always so studious, was willing to get off track for Aziraphale’s sake. He was suddenly deeply regretting bringing the other angel here.

As he turned into the records room, he immediately began searching cabinets, trying to distract himself, even though his brain wouldn’t stop showing him images of Sam and Aziraphale talking together, the way Sam’s face lit up whenever Aziraphale said something he liked about one of Sam’s favorite books. Sam’s smile was his favorite thing in the world, but he found it bittersweet when it was directed at the other angel.

“Bloody Winchesters,” Crowley announced his presence and Castiel spun around, his eyes narrowing.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

“Same as you. Avoiding them.” Castiel noticed that Crowley wasn’t quite looking at him, his eyes seeming to be far away.

“Why are you avoiding them?” he asked slowly.

Crowley’s gaze focused on him, his expression one that Castiel was used to seeing from him – one that said that he was being an idiot. “You haven’t noticed how Dean as warmed up quite nicely to the new Crowley? Or were you too busy stewing in jealously over Samantha’s interactions with Aziraphale?”

Castiel frowned. “I am not jealous.”

“Please. Don’t even try that with me. You’re practically green.”

Castiel looked down at himself, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I am not green.”

Crowley sighed, rolling his eyes. “Not literally. You’re boiling over with jealousy, and you can’t deny it.”

Castiel sighed, looking down. “You may have a… slight point,” he admitted reluctantly.

“Of course I do. So what, was he staring love struck at his new angel the entire time you were researching?”

“No, he was talking to him the entire time, showing him his favorite books, and being exceptionally pleased when Aziraphale liked them. He didn’t even pay any notice of me,” he added the last part softly.

“Join the club. Dean and Crowley spent the entire trip talking about cars, music, and everything else under the sun. I have never felt more like a third wheel in my life.”

Castiel looked up at him with a frown. “Dean has used that term before, but now I am thinking that I do not understand its meaning.”

“Third wheel? It means the other two have a great dynamic together and you’re just rolling along with them, unable to contribute anything because they are so wrapped up in each other.”

“Oh… that is also how I felt today.”

“I thought as much. Should we get matching t-shirts?”

“No.” He tilted his head curiously. “You are also jealous, aren’t you?”

Crowley glared at the wall. “The Winchesters are replacing the both of us. I have just as much right to be jealous as you do.”

“But you know that my jealousy stems from my romantic attraction to Sam… just as yours stems from your romantic feelings towards Dean, don’t they?” He had noticed some time ago that Crowley had a soft spot for Dean and had always wondered the extent of it. Now it looked like he knew.

“Well done, feathers. But we are being replaced. Out with the old angel and demon, in with the new.”

Castiel shook his head. “I do not believe that,” he argued confidently. “While I do not like how close Sam has gotten to Aziraphale, I do not believe that they would push me out of their lives because of it. It just means that I no longer have a shot at a relationship with Sam; not that I had much of one, in the first place. Though, in your case, they do seem to be more favorable towards the other Crowley. He seems to be much more likable than you, and so a much more desirable demonic contact. However, a lot of your value comes from you being the King of Hell, so I do not believe you will be replaced entirely.”

“Gee, thanks,” he muttered sourly. “Look, things will still be changing for you, should your fears come to pass. You camp out in Sam’s room, don’t you? I doubt his new boyfriend will like that too much. Then where will you go? Another bedroom? But you don’t need sleep, you were just staying the night for Sam’s company. So, there’s no point in you staying here, then. You’ll pop in occasionally at first, but after one too many times of walking into a room to see Sam and Aziraphale making out, you’ll probably start keeping your distance. Of course, you’ll tell the boys to call you if you need anything, and they’ll say that of course they will, but when will they actually need you? They have a new resident angel to help them in their troubles. So, the contact will slowly wane away, and before you know it, Aziraphale is their new go-to angel, and you have been forgotten.”

A sense of dread filled Castiel, becoming greater with each word that Crowley spoke. He didn’t want to admit it, but he could see everything that he said happening. It was like he had been thinking before, Sam and Dean had a tendency to get wrapped up in each other and forget about him. So, if he wasn’t coming around as much… he was sure that they would have every intent not to lose contact with him, but Crowley was right, it would happen eventually.

Crowley could see that he his words had resonated with Castiel, so he continued. “Then there’s Crowley, who they both already like more than me. He’ll move in with Aziraphale, of course, since they’re a package deal. And fallen angels are, essentially, more powerful than human-born demons, anyway, so they’ll rely on him and stop calling me. And then I will fade from their lives even more swiftly than you. And then he and Dean will probably get together, and-”

“Wait,” Castiel had a sudden thought. “What you said, that Aziraphale and Crowley are a package deal; they are awfully close, aren’t they? I had wondered initially if they were a couple.”

“So had I, but if they are, it hasn’t stopped them from cozying up to our hunters.”

“It could stop it from going further, though. If they are together, Aziraphale will not get together with Sam-”

“Unless he decides he prefers him to a demon.”

Castiel glared at him. “You are not being particularly helpful.”

“Alright, _fine._ You might still have a shot here. But the fact remains that all three of you like that bloody serpent more than me, and there’s no way that you’re going to want me to stick around!” He took a deep breath and continued in a more subdued tone. “Whether or not Crowley gets with Dean, I’ve still lost him.”

Castiel regarded Crowley curiously for a few moments. “You honestly love him, don’t you?”

Crowley glared at him, but said nothing. Castiel took that as a confirmation. He imagined that it must be rather taboo for a demon to admit that he loved someone, and there was nothing else that could explain the utter defeat that emanated from Crowley’s body – he was heartbroken.

“Does he have any idea?” Castiel asked softly.

Crowley scoffed. “Doubt it. The Winchesters are both pretty thick-skulled. I don’t think Sam has the faintest idea you’re smitten for him, either.”

“So, what should we do?”

Crowley raised his eyebrows. “We?”

“Yes, we’re both in the same boat, here.”

“And I’ve had to pull out all the stops to get you to work with me every other time we’re in the same boat.”

Castiel shrugged. “I believe that you know better what to do in our situations than I do.”

“Ah, so your motivation is entirely selfish. I can respect that.” Castiel didn’t appreciate the insinuation, but he remained quiet as Crowley thought over what to do. “Okay, first thing’s first, we…” He trailed off as they heard voices in the hall, unmistakably coming from Sam and Dean.

“Just…” Sam was speaking, sounding both hesitant and anxious. “Tell me you don’t have a crush on Crowley.”

Castiel glanced at Crowley, who was extremely tense, staring at the door. He knew he was anxiously waiting for Dean’s response, probably hoping that it would reveal which Crowley the statement was about, but there was only silence.

“Dean!” Sam chided him. Whatever the look on his face had been, it must have been a confirmation; Castiel knew that Sam would not be comfortable with his brother dating a demon, no matter which demon it was.

“Oh, don’t start,” Dean snapped. “It’s not like you don’t have a crush on a certain angel.”

Castiel tensed as the boy’s voices faded away as they continued walking. Crowley and Castiel stared at each other for several seconds in silence.

“Well…” Crowley finally spoke up, his voice slightly rougher than usual. “At least you know there’s a 50/50 chance he likes you.”

Castiel nodded, though he doubted that comment had been about him. “And there is a 50/50 chance that Dean likes you.”

Crowley scoffed. “Hardly. Nice to think about, though. Might keep me from getting too discouraged.” He sighed. “Alright, as I was saying, the first thing we need to do is figure out if Crowley and Aziraphale are dating. If not, we need to subtly pry for information on whether they like Sam and Dean..”

“Alright. So, should we go ask them if they are dating?”

“Not outright,” Crowley admonished him. “We need to be delicate about it. This means cozying up to them ourselves. Shouldn’t be too hard; you wanted to befriend the angel in the first place. And Crowley was in poor favor with Hell once upon a time, I can offer to remedy that. He’s certainly an odd demon, but I’ve met worse.”

“So, I talk to Aziraphale, you talk to Crowley.” Castiel nodded; that sounded like a good enough plan. And if Aziraphale was dating Crowley, perhaps Castiel could ask him for advice on how to go about things with Sam. He had never done relationships like this before, so it would be useful to talk to an angel that had. “How do we separate them?”

“Oh, just play your sob story about how you haven’t talked to an angel who wasn’t trying to kill you in years. That should do the trick.”

“Alright.” He nodded towards the door. “Let’s do this.”


	7. Just Get Drunk

Crowley followed Castiel to the library, glad to see that Sam and Dean hadn’t made it back out yet. Crowley and Aziraphale were sitting at a table, Crowley’s sunglasses discarded for once, though both of their true faces were still concealed – old habits do die hard, apparently. They were giggling about something, and sharing a bottle of wine that it appeared one of them had recently miracled into existence. Well, this looked very coupley, but there was still no guarantee.

“Aziraphale,” Castiel began, and the other angel looked up at him with a smile. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting… it’s just that I haven’t had another angel to talk to in years. I love Sam and Dean, but they don’t see things the same way we do, and it gets lonely sometimes.”

“Oh, I can understand that,” Aziraphale said, placing a hand on Crowley’s shoulder. “If it weren’t for having Crowley around, I don’t know how I would have managed.”

“Glad that’s what I am to you, angel…” Crowley teased with a wry smile. “A way to manage.”

“Oh, shut it, you,” he chided fondly. “You know full well that’s not true.”

Crowley’s smile became a lot more pleased as he leaned back in his chair. Crowley and Castiel exchanged a quick glance. This was definitely looking promising.

“I was hoping that I could talk to you for a little bit,” Castiel continued.

“Oh, of course.” He glanced back at Crowley. “You don’t mind, dear?”

Crowley waved his hand. “Go on, angel.”

Aziraphale smiled, kissed him on the cheek, and then followed after Castiel. Make that _very_ promising.

The Crowley still standing by the doorway glanced at the retreating angels before turning back to the other Crowley. He motioned towards the table. “Mind if I join you?”

The other demon only looked slightly hesitant at the idea of the King of Hell joining him for a drink, but nonetheless, he smiled and motioned to the seat across from him. “Go right ahead.”

Crowley sat down as the other poured them both a drink. Wine wasn’t his usual drink of choice, but this particular bottle was high quality, so he still found it enjoyable. Not about to rush anything, they drank in silence for a few minutes; Crowley made sure that his demeanor was comfortable, but with the air of one trying to find the right thing to say to strike up a conversation that was not boring small talk.

“So… you and the angel? Or does he kiss all his friends?” he finally asked casually.

Crowley smiled. “Nope, just me,” he said proudly. “We’ve been dating since shortly after we stopped the Apocalypse.”

“Hmm… talk about an odd couple.” He allowed the other Crowley to grow slightly nervous at the King of Hell’s scrutinization, before he smiled. “But it works.”

The other’s smile returned. “It does.”

Crowley reached for the bottle and refilled both their glasses before offering his up in a toast. “To happy relationships.”

They clinked glasses and drank. A few seconds later, the other Crowley spoke. “Back when I was still working for Hell, the high up demons were some of the worst ones, you know? But you’re not so bad.”

“I appreciate the sentiment.” He paused for a drink. “Most demons get on my nerves, too. There’s always the stupid questions, or running off to fulfill some whim.” He shook his head before meeting yellow eyes. “They’re all idiots.”

“I know! I would try to explain to them the beauty of the work I was doing, but I might as well have been talking to a wall.”

“I’ve read your files, you did some good work. I like the highway.”

He grinned. “Yeah, I was quite proud of that. It took a lot of work. At least that got recognized, though not to the level it deserved.” He shook his head. “Hell was just always so _old fashioned._ I tried to introduce technology, but they never used it right.”

“Oh, you’re who taught them to scream through radios?”

“That was not my intent!”

Crowley chuckled. “We use it properly now. I get my stats on an iPad.”

“See, _that’s_ how you do it! I helped build Apple, you know?”

Crowley raised his eyebrows, impressed. “That wasn’t in your file.”

“Because no one down below thought it was worth anything.”

“Oh, it’s worth tons. Having stock in a major corporation like that-”

 _“And_ I designed it so that it has to be updated constantly; new gadgets come out every few months that everyone just _has_ to have. The discord it spreads is incalculable!”

Crowley eyed him thoughtfully. “Not many demons think like you do. I’m assuming the company name was an ode to your grand debut?”

“Of course.”

The fallen angel went on to explain some of his other achievements that Hell didn’t find noteworthy. Some were great, but many were too low-grade for Crowley’s taste. Still, he liked the way this guy thought.

“I haven’t missed a single thing about Hell since I retired. Though it does sound like you make a pretty good king.”

Crowley didn’t think any demon had ever said that to him before, and he found himself smiling at the praise. “Thank you.” He raised his latest glass (the bottle kept refilling itself) to him before taking a drink. “Sorry to pull you out of retirement.”

Crowley shrugged. “Ah, it’s not so bad.”

“Everyone here seems to have taken to you real well,” he noted. “Dean especially.”

“Yeah, Dean’s great. It’s not often that I’m around humans that I can actually talk to freely. And I certainly never thought that I’d have anything in common with a-a… hunter, but he’s not so bad. Actually, he’s pretty friendly.”

Crowley had by this point had enough to drink that he had very few reservations about asking the questions he really wanted to know the answers to. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” Crowley asked, halfway through pouring himself another drink, splashing a bit on the table in his confusion.

“Get everyone to like you. You’re dating a bloody angel. You walk into the house of the three greatest demon-haters in the world, and they instantly all like you.” Even he liked him now, and he had been dead set against that.

“I don’t think Sam likes me very much,” he pointed out.

“But he’s still nicer to you than he is to me. And Dean’s all ready to be your bestie.”

“I don’t know. I’m not doing anything. I just… just be me.”

“Load of good that does me,” he grumbled. “They hate the real me.”

“No, no, no, no, no.” Crowley waved his finger at him. “There’s a part of you you’re hiding.”

Crowley frowned. “No, there’s not.”

“You still try to cover your feelings. I was ash-asssh- didn’t like mine, either. But when Aziraphale saw that I had ‘em, he liked it. You can’t act like you would for a demon. They don’t like demons. You have to do the messy stuff.”

Crowley hesitated for a moment. “What makes you think I have feelings? I’m the bloody King of Hell.”

“And you’re asking for advice on how to make your crush like you.”

He froze. “I-I don’t… I don’t have a crush on Dean!”

Crowley smirked broadly. “I never said Dean. Besides, I know it. Had a crush on Zira for forever.”

Crowley was torn between not wanting to admit he was right, and wanting to know more. The alcohol greatly influenced his decision. “And what did you do?”

“Got drunk and admitted my feelings. Give it a go.”

He sighed. “He’ll never talk to me again.”

“No. Not true. Earlier he was asking me if you could of love.”

“What?” He didn’t know if he dared to hope.

“Well, not – not those exact words. But he was asking me about… about demons loving, and you came up, and he was all hopeful.”

Crowley frowned thoughtfully before shaking his head, looking down. “No… no, he doesn’t…”

 _“And_ he was all worried about you earlier.”

His gaze snapped up again. “He was?”

“Sure. Said you were acting all weird today.”

“Well yeah, he was flirting with you all day!”

Crowley raised his eyebrows in surprise before smiling. “You’re jealous!”

Crowley’s eyes narrowed. “Why does that make you happy?”

“Oh… sorry, force of habit. I just like spreading… that, er, _discord_ and such… not to you, of course. No, I – you have no reason to be jealous. I’m happy with Zira, and I think Dean likes you.”

“On second thought, you’re too optimistic,” he muttered as he poured himself another drink. There was no way that he was the Crowley that Dean was crushing on.

The subject turned away from Dean Winchester, to Crowley’s both relief and dismay. However, that was remedied when, a few minutes later, Dean walked into the library. He froze when he saw them. “Am I missing a party?”

“Yes!” the other Crowley declared. “Join us!”

Dean hesitated, his gaze resting on the King of Hell. “Why not?” he finally muttered, and Crowley was exceptionally pleased when he took the seat beside him.

At least, he was pleased until the other Crowley spoke up again. “See… sssssee, now you two need to get drunk, and admit your feelings for each other.”

Crowley blushed and restrained himself from looking over at Dean – he had no desire to see the surely disgusted expression on his face. “I’m already drunk, and that was still extremely embarrassing. I think I’ll leave now.” He began to stand, but a hand on his arm stopped him. A hand belonging to Dean. He slowly turned to look at the hunter, who was also bright red.

“What feelings?” Was it Crowley’s imagination, or was there a hopeful edge to his voice? _Was_ he the Crowley that Dean had a crush on?

He took a deep breath. “I may… like you… a lot.”

Dean seemed to be fighting against the smile that was curling up his lips. “Really?”

Crowley just raised an eyebrow. “Your turn.”

“Hey, I’m not drunk yet.”

“Too bad.” He leaned in slightly, a wide smile on his face.

Dean’s eyes flickered down to his lips. “Fine. I like you. Happy?”

“Exceptionally.” He reached out, pulling Dean into a kiss and earning a wolf-whistle from Crowley.

They were still kissing several minutes later when they heard someone who was definitely not Crowley clear their throat. They spun around to see Sam standing in the doorway, looking extremely tired.

“Sam, I…” Dean started.

“You know what, I don’t have it in me to deal with this right now. Has anyone seen Cas? He had mentioned starting the next season of Gotham tonight, but I can’t find him.”

“I think he’s talking to Zira… somewhere,” the other Crowley offered.

“Thanks,” he muttered, shooting one last mistrustful glance at the demon next to his brother before leaving the room.

“Well… that’s gonna be fun,” Dean sighed. He turned to the other Crowley. “I could definitely do with getting drunk now.” The demon miracled him a glass and poured him some wine.

Crowley raised his glass to his new boyfriend. “To us?” he offered.

Dean laughed. “Who knew you were so sappy?” He rolled his eyes as he lifted his glass. “Yeah… to us.”


	8. Overdue Confession

“I’m sorry to pull you away from Crowley,” Castiel apologized as they made their way down the hall to the kitchen. It was the best place he could think of to have a conversation that was out of ear-shot of the library.

“Don’t worry about it, dear boy,” Aziraphale assured him. “I get chances to drink with Crowley every day; talking with a fellow angel, though, that’s rare.”

“I still cannot get over how close you and Crowley are,” he commented as they turned into the kitchen. “I could never imagine being so close to the Crowley that I know. I have worked with him several times, but it has never been a particularly enjoyable experience.”

“I realize that Crowley and mine’s situation is extremely unique. It is why we always kept our friendship a secret back when we were still playing our roles is the dance of Heaven and Hell – no other angel would understand how I could enjoy the company of a demon. It is good that I am no longer in contact with Heaven, as it would be even harder to hide that I am now dating him.”

Castiel barely stopped himself from sagging with relief. “So, you _are_ dating him?”

“Yes. And I know what you must think, but… Crowley is truly special. He has stood by me through so much, and I have seen him do things, experience emotions of which I never believed demons were capable. I had so many expectations when I first met the serpent in the Garden of Eden, so much so that I allowed them to shape the way I saw him. He was evil, my adversary, and while we may have engaged in polite conversation, he most certainly always had a darker purpose. But as the centuries wore on, it grew harder for me to say that. And I grew lonely, found myself looking forward to those conversations, no matter what he stood to gain from them. Which, of course, led to our Arrangement, and when I really allowed myself to get to know him, I saw layers that demons weren’t supposed to have. The Arrangement grew into friendship, and I am not entirely sure when it began to grow into more than that. The almost-Apocalypse was the tipping point, though. I was certain that demons could not love, but when I saw how Crowley fought so hard for the world, I knew that it could not be anything else. It was Crowley who convinced me to stand up against Heaven, to question everything I believed, and when I stood by him at the end of the world, I had never been happier.”

Castiel allowed Aziraphale’s story to sink in, and he couldn’t help but think that it sounded a bit familiar. He had heard from Heaven that Sam Winchester was a tool of Hell, the boy with the demon blood, and that he could not be trusted. Looking back at their first meeting, he still hated how he had acted, the things he had said because Heaven had poisoned his mind with their lies. But then he had gotten to know Sam, and he saw that there was so much more to him than his mistakes – he had the purest soul on the Earth. And then, while it had been both Sam and Dean who had persuaded him to rebel, he knew that he would not have done so if it were not for how Sam had showed him how wrong Heaven was, that he could defy his destiny so vehemently, and that as long as you had Sam Winchester by your side, you had to have hope. He supposed he could see how Aziraphale had fallen in love with Crowley.

“I can relate,” he murmured softly. And now he knew that he definitely did not have to worry about Aziraphale and Sam; if Aziraphale felt for Crowley anything like Castiel felt for Sam, his gaze would never wander. And Aziraphale had actually managed to get together with his love, so maybe he could give him some advice. He cleared his throat. “How did you do it?”

Aziraphale frowned slightly in confusion. “Do what?”

“Get together with him. I-I am not particularly good at these kinds of things.”

“Oh, well, I wouldn’t say that Crowley and I used the best method to get together – not that I am unhappy with it, of course, as I cannot argue with the results. We were drinking and he let slip his feelings, so I told him that I returned them.”

“But you didn’t know beforehand? Could you not tell?” He was sure that sometimes people could get a feel for if someone liked them or not, but he hadn’t the slightest idea how to do so. And while Sam definitely liked either him or Aziraphale, but he didn’t know which.

“I could not, though that is not to say that there were not signs of it. I believe that often times, the one most blind to the affection is the one receiving it. So, perhaps asking his brother if he’s noticed anything would be the best method for you.”

Castiel blinked in surprise. He hadn’t mentioned Sam, had he? “How did you know who I was talking about?”

“There are really only two people it can be, and they’re brothers.”

“Oh. Right.” He looked down, slightly embarrassed. He probably should have thought of that before he started asking these questions.

Aziraphale gave him a comforting smile at his embarrassment. “I have also noticed that you look at Sam differently. And although I am not the best at judging these things, I do believe that Sam returns your feelings.”

He looked up hopefully. “What makes you think so?”

“He believes himself to be unclean because he was Lucifer’s vessel, doesn’t he?”

“It is an unfounded belief, but yes.”

Aziraphale nodded at the confirmation. “He was asking me earlier how an angel could love someone unclean. It was directed towards Crowley and myself, of course, but I couldn’t help but feel that he had a different motivation for asking the question.”

“And you think it was because he has feelings for me?”

“Do you have a better explanation?”

Castiel thought about it for a second. There was the obvious explanation that he was asking because of his feelings for Aziraphale. Though, Sam had been directly asking about Aziraphale’s love for Crowley, he could have perceived the love to come from friendship, rather than what it actually was. And even if he did know that it was more than friendship, it wouldn’t negate his feelings, and he would still be curious. He didn’t feel like explaining this to Aziraphale, though, so he offered another possible explanation. “Sam loves learning, especially about redemption stories, since I believe he relates to them so much. His motivation could have come from wondering if he could be loved, though not necessarily by me.”

Aziraphale frowned. “Why are you so sure he doesn’t love you?”

Castiel looked down, ashamed. “I have made a lot of mistakes, most of which had negative repercussions for Sam. Once I even stooped to hurting Sam myself just so that he and Dean wouldn’t interfere in what I was doing. I tried to justify it to myself at the time, saying that I would heal him after I was done with what I was doing, but there was no justification for that. To make it worse, the power drove me insane and I refused to heal him. He was driven crazy with hallucinations for months because of what I did to him. He nearly died, and ended up having to check himself into a mental hospital. By the time I was myself again…” He took a deep breath. “I still do not know how he can stand to look at me after that.”

“Perhaps he does not hold it against you, just as you don’t hold his mistakes against him.”

“That still does not mean that he could ever stand to be with me in the same way that I want to be with him.”

“There is also no guarantee that he doesn’t. Dean might know, though.”

Castiel shook his head. “I love Dean like a brother, but… he is not always the most supportive on matters such as this. It would be foreseeable for him to turn it into some kind of joke, and I am already nervous enough about it as it is. He is also extremely protective of Sam, and I am not sure he would approve.”

Aziraphale nodded in understanding. “Then I would suggest talking to Sam.”

“But what if he doesn’t feel the same?”

“It is a risk you have to take. Crowley took the same risk when he told me of his feelings, though admittedly, he was quite drunk at the time. You can either talk to him, or continue on not knowing.”

“Were you not going to do the latter?” Castiel accused.

Aziraphale blushed. “Yes. Yes, I suppose I was. I was content to continue on with Crowley as things were to avoid the risk. And now I can’t help but think, what if Crowley had never confessed his feelings? We would have continued on, neither of us knowing how the other really felt. And _that_ is what you are risking by not telling Sam.”

Castiel sighed. “I suppose you are right.”

“And now you need to get your mind off of it, otherwise you will stew in your nervousness, and everything will be much worse.”

Castiel nodded, trying to think of something to say. “Do you ever miss Heaven?”

They talked for a while about their home, the things they missed, and the things that they were glad to be away from. They discussed some of the jobs they had done for Heaven, both the ones they were proud of, and the ones they were now second-guessing.

“My garrison was not particularly stable,” Castiel was explaining. “The original leader followed Lucifer in the fall… I quite liked him, but I suppose he is dead now. The angel who took his place ended up casting out her grace and falling to Earth. She eventually reclaimed it, but…she tried to kill Sam. She died in the attempt.”

“I was under the command of Gabriel,” Aziraphale told him. “I remember when I was attempting to stop the Apocalypse, I was so worried that he would come down to check on me and see what I was doing.”

“I doubt you would have been in trouble. Gabriel himself rebelled shortly after your near Apocalypse.”

Aziraphale looked shocked. “He did?”

“Yes. He said he was tired of all the fighting. He faked his death and went into witness protection as Loki. He is actually who told us how to put Lucifer back in his cage.”

“I never would have thought… Where is he now?”

Castiel’s expression grew sad. “Lucifer killed him when he was buying Sam and Dean time to escape a trap.” He paused, looking at Aziraphale’s clear dismay. “Given the timing, I wonder if it was you stopping the Apocalypse that motivated him to leave Heaven. I am sure he was proud of you.”

Aziraphale smiled sadly. “That is nice to think.”

Castiel attempted to move the conversation onto more cheerful subjects, such as their favorite things about Earth. He succeeded for a few minutes, until Sam stepped into the kitchen. Castiel turned to face him, his nerves suddenly coming back in full swing.

“Well,” Aziraphale cleared his throat. “I should be getting back to Crowley. It was good talking to you, Castiel. Sam.” He nodded to the hunter as he left the room.

Sam glanced at Aziraphale briefly as he left, before turning back to Castiel. Was it his imagination, or did Sam look a little nervous, too? “Hey, Cas, um, I was wondering if you still wanted to watch Gotham tonight? If not, it’s alright, I just-”

“Of course, I still want to watch Gotham with you,” Castiel cut off his rambling, wondering what was causing Sam’s doubt in the matter. “I would like to have a word with you first, though.”

Sam shifted nervously. “Of course.”

Castiel hesitated, struggling to find the right words and then to overcome his nerves enough to speak. “I fear that this is far overdue, but I must confess that I believe I am falling in love with you. I know that this could make things awkward, if you do not feel the same, but I hope that if that is the case, nothing will change between us. You are far too important in my life, Sam Winchester, and I would surely live a much darker existence without you.”

Sam stared at him in shock and as the seconds ticked by in silence, Castiel could feel his nervousness doubling. Finally, Sam found the words to speak. “Cas, I… I love you, too.”

Relief like Castiel had never known washed over him. “You do?”

“Of course, I do, I… I have for years.”

Castiel was suddenly painfully aware of the distance between them, and he crossed the floor to pull Sam into his arms. “I love you, Sam.” He felt Sam relax in his embrace, long arms winding around him. Castiel pulled back slightly in order to look at him with a slight frown. “Why were you so nervous?”

“Oh.” Sam gave a small laugh. “I thought you were mad at me.”

Castiel’s frown deepened. “Why would I be mad at you?”

He shrugged. “You were acting kind of off earlier, like you didn’t want to be in the same room as me.”

Castiel’s eyes widened in realization. “Sam, I am so sorry. I… am slightly embarrassed to admit that I was jealous.”

Sam’s eyebrows shot up. “Jealous?”

“You seemed to be getting along with Aziraphale so well, and I thought…”

“That I liked _him?”_ He shook his head. “Cas, Aziraphale’s great, but he’s no you.”

Castiel smiled. He didn’t know what to say to that, so instead he pulled Sam into long, languid kiss.

A few minutes later, they walked back into the library hand-in-hand. Aziraphale turned to look at them with a smile, but Castiel’s attention was quickly drawn to the King of Hell’s arm around Dean’s shoulder. “Dean? Are you and Crowley actually dating?” He hadn’t expected Crowley to actually get what he wanted.

Dean’s cheeks turned pink as he began to turn towards them. “Uh, yeah, I guess-” He cut off abruptly as he saw the angel holding hands with his brother. “Oh, thank god, you two are finally together.” Crowley also turned to face them with a small grin as Dean pointed his emptied glass accusingly at Castiel. “You’d better take real good care of my little brother, got it?”

Castiel nodded. “I intend to.”

“Want to join us for a drink?” the Crowley curled into Aziraphale’s side invited.

Castiel looked to Sam, who shook his head. “We’re just going to go relax, watch some Netflix,” Sam declined.

“Suuuure you are.” Dean gave them a suggestive wink. “Hey, so you’re too happy about getting with Cas to yell at me about Crowley, right?”

Sam ran a hand over his face in exasperation. “I’m not going to yell at you, Dean, I just think you’re being stupid.”

“Hey,” Crowley spoke up. “I love your brother. I’m not going to hurt him.”

“And he’s drunk, so you know that was the truth,” Dean added.

Sam sighed. “I still don’t like it, but fine. It’s your decision.”

 Dean beamed. “Great, so everyone’s happy, so tomorrow we can put aside all the relationship drama and get to work tracking down the Antichrist.”


	9. Epilogue - A Damn Good Happily Ever After

After everything was said and done, and Crowley and Aziraphale had helped them take out not only the Antichrist, but also the British Men of Letters (which they both had obvious issues with), Dean felt that he and Sam had finally gotten their happily ever after. They were still hunting because that was their life and that would never change, but there was no big threat looming over the world, nobody directly targeting them, it was just your run-of-the-mill monsters. And what was more than that, Dean didn’t think he had ever seen Sam so happy, or been so happy himself.

Dating Crowley had definitely come with an adjustment period. It was a little difficult to align his values as a hunter with the fact the Crowley ruled over Hell, but they worked everything out, with some advice from Crowley and Aziraphale. Sam eventually came to terms with the fact that Crowley wasn’t going anywhere and started warming up to the demon. Then, once all the major kinks in their relationship were worked out, he introduced him to his mom; and surprisingly, Sam and Castiel helped her to accept it as well.

Sam, of course, had no such problems. He was dating an angel, and while their mom may have been a little weirded out by that, she liked Castiel, had already seen him willing to go to the ends of the Earth to save her son, and now she was perfectly happy that they were dating. Dean wasn’t bitter about it, though; he was glad that his little brother had things easier for once in his life.

Crowley and Aziraphale still visited on occasion, and vice versa. Sam and Aziraphale shared book recommendations with each other, and Crowley showed Dean new recipes that he then showed off to his brother and boyfriend. Crowley and Dean also finally had a race, but Crowley definitely cheated using his demonic powers, so it didn’t count.

Dean’s Crowley had managed to change the other’s retirement to a semi-retirement, convincing him to help out in Hell on occasion because, “I need at least _one_ demon that I can trust.” And having the fallen angel at his side had helped him to gain back complete control of Hell so that his rule was once again as stable as it had ever been, possibly even more so.

Castiel and Aziraphale still stayed out of business in Heaven, but Castiel knew that if he ever did need to go up there again, Aziraphale would have his back. Castiel had also grown closer to the other Crowley when he finally revealed his true face to him and Castiel realized that he was the angel who had taught him to fly.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Castiel asked.

Crowley shrugged. “I know you must have been pretty disappointed in me when I fell, so… I thought it would be easier this way.”

“I was sad. I missed you. Anna took over my training from you, but… I preferred you.”

Crowley smiled, clearly touched. “Still, you did alright for yourself.” He nodded towards Sam. “Clearly, you didn’t need me. Glad I was able to instill some rebellious tendencies in you before I left, though.”

Castiel grinned. “And perhaps also your love for the world.”

“My boss is right over there, could you tone down the lovey-dovey stuff?”

“Your boss is making out with Dean. I don’t think he’s paying much attention.”

Dean and Crowley broke apart, laughing.

“Hey, are we going to watch this movie or not?” Dean demanded.

“We were simply passing time while you were otherwise occupied,” Castiel teased.

Dean threw a piece of popcorn at him. “Sit down and shut up, would you?”

Crowley threw himself down on the loveseat beside (and half on top of) Aziraphale, while Castiel took a seat next to Sam and pulled him to his side.

“Ready?” Sam asked, before hitting ‘play’ on the remote.

Dean laid down, resting his head on Crowley’s lap as a voice from the TV began talking about the intelligence of dolphins. Crowley grinned down at him, running a hand through his hair as he returned his attention to the screen. Yeah, this was a damn good happily ever after.


End file.
